MHC6306 WEEK 4 LECTURE, DISCUSSION, AND PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

MHC6306 WEEK 4 LECTURE, DISCUSSION, AND PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS 1

Recruitment; Selection; and Retention

Recruitment, selection, and retention of healthcare employees are a mixture of complex and time-consuming activities. These activities throw special challenges, keeping the human resources (HR) professionals busy.

As healthcare professionals need to be in close proximity with their customers (the patients), it is imperative for any healthcare organization to recruit individuals who have the qualifications and experience to care for and be empathetic to patients. The HR department plays a vital role in ensuring that there is a successful recruitment program in place. A successful recruitment program ensures that the candidate selected for a position is the right fit for the organization.

Human resource management must stay on top of the multiple barriers that can interfere with an established and successful recruitment program. Some of these barriers are:

· Workforce shortages

· Unfair compensation and benefits packages

· Flawed employee relations

· Inflexibility in staffing

· Unstable leadership

· Poor staff development

· Lack of opportunities for advancement internally

It is the responsibility of the HR professional to ensure that the organization does not face these barriers in its recruitment programs.

You have discussed healthcare recruitment, selection, and retention methods; metrics; and best practices.

This week, you learned about the importance of HRM as it relates to healthcare recruitment and retention. This unit also explored the importance of implementing labor and union laws and the impact of HRM on maintaining sufficient staffing. Next you will review the interview process.

Resources

From the South University Online Library, read the following: Corporate Sustainability: The Environmental Design and Human Resource Management Interface in Healthcare Settings

From the Internet, read the following: Searl, M. M., Borgi, L., & Chemali, Z. (2010). It is time to talk about people: A human-centered healthcare system. Health Research Policy and Systems, 8, 35. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1478-4505-8-35

Interviewing

In an interview, an individual or a group meets a candidate to assess his or her knowledge and experience for a position.

The interviewing and hiring process is led by the HR department for the entire organization. In healthcare today, there are unique challenges to consider when hiring candidates. For example, many HR representatives have insisted that the best way to handle difficult employees is to never hire them in the first place. Regardless of how much truth there is to that, few would argue with the sentiment that good hiring leads to a better workplace.

Selecting the right candidate for a position involves defining the complete interviewing process as follows:

· Posting a position

· Handling applications

· Conducting interviews

· Checking references and backgrounds

· Hiring a candidate

· Various interviewing techniques can be used depending on the position to be filled.

It is important for any organization to recruit the most suitable candidate for a position. At the same time, it is crucial to retain good employees. Next, let's learn about the retention best practices in a healthcare organization.

This week also focuses on methods, metrics, and best practices related to recruitment, selection, and retention as well as the interview process. Next the role of the human resources professional in recruitment and retention will be reviewed.

Resource:

Bondarouk, T., Bos-Nehles, A., & Hesselink, X. (2016). Understanding the congruence of HRM frames in a healthcare organization. Baltic Journal of Management, 11(1), 2-20.  https://su.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&AN=111672815&site=eds-live

Additional Materials

Retention Best Practices

Retaining employees is one of the responsibilities of the HR professional. The HR professional interacts with the employees of the organization to understand and solve their problems and retain them. The HR professional provides suggestions and advice to the managers and staff employees and equips them with the training necessary to succeed.

Every healthcare organization has retention best practices. Some commonly used best practices are as follows:

· Adopting the right technology to increase efficiency

· Ensuring effectiveness and employee satisfaction

· Focusing on retention based on generational differences (retirement age versus someone in his or her twenties)

· Allowing inclusion in decision making

· Offering flexible work arrangements

· Promoting a work–life balance

· Using proper interviewing techniques and questions to effectively screen candidates before hiring them

· Conducting routine employee satisfaction surveys

· Acknowledging and rewarding employees for excellence

· Developing the workforce

· Providing a competitive compensation and benefits package

Retaining employees ensures that the organization does not have to take the risk of recruiting more often. This also saves the organization unnecessary costs and increases the return on investment.

This lecture explored the importance of implementing labor and union laws and the impact of HRM on maintaining sufficient staffing and some of the challenges facing Human Resource Professionals. Next you will learn about employee training, development, legal issues, core competencies of the HR department, succession planning, HR technology, HR delivery, and maximization of organizational performance.

Resources:

Boyd, N., & Gessner, B. (2013). Human resource performance metrics: Methods and processes that demonstrate you care. Cross Cultural Management, 20(2), 251–273. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527601311313508

Week 4 Discussion

 Before beginning work on this discussion forum, please review the link “Doing Discussion Questions Right,” the expanded grading rubric for the forum, and any specific instructions for this topic.

Before the end of the week, begin commenting on at least two of your classmates’ responses. You can ask technical questions or respond generally to the overall experience. Be objective, clear, and concise. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work toward the goal of positive progress. Submit your responses in the Discussion Area.

Employee Turnover and Future Staffing Needs

A high employee turnover in any industry can be a concern, more so in those that are customer centered. Industries that deal with people's health are in an even more precarious position. Healthcare organizations with high attrition must consider how a "revolving door" of care providers affects the quality of care the organization is able to provide and the satisfaction of patients with their overall experience. HR professionals are responsible for staffing positions, training employees, providing benefits, and handling any problems or disciplinary actions. The day-to-day responsibilities of managing the workforce can leave little time for long-range planning.

Tasks:

Post to the Discussion Area your responses to the following:

· How does a high employee turnover rate impact the operations in a healthcare organization? Give examples of one clinical and one nonclinical position in your answer. For example, what is the effect of a high turnover among lab technicians and among billing staff?

· What data may be gathered and analyzed to assess the reasons for employee turnover? What additional data might HRM gather?

· What would you use for forecasting metrics for current and future staffing needs? Give an example of a particular healthcare setting (e.g., urban or rural, large or small hospital, or primary or tertiary care).

· What best practices would you recommend for reducing healthcare employee turnover? Explain at least three such best practices and their positive affect on a healthcare organization.

· Among clinical staff, would you target any particular age group for retention efforts? For example, would you make greater effort to retain younger staff for the organization's long-term staffing needs or would you rather retain more experienced employees to improve the quality of care?

Provide reasons and evidence in support of your responses. From the Internet, read the following: Boyd, N., & Gessner, B. (2013). Human resource performance metrics: Methods and processes that demonstrate you care. Cross Cultural Management, 20(2), 251–273. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13527601311313508  

To support your work, use your course and textbook readings and also use the South University Online Library. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

Your initial posting should be addressed at 300-500 words. Submit your document to this Discussion Area by the due date assigned. Be sure to cite your sources using APA format.

Respond to your peers throughout the week. Justify your answers with examples, research, and reasoning. Follow up posts need to be submitted by the end of the week.

Week 4 Project

 Instructions

Before beginning work on this assignment, please review the expanded grading rubric for specific instructions relating to content and formatting.

Labor Union Issues

In this assignment, you will research labor relations and common labor union issues for the nursing staff in an acute care organization.

Tasks:

On the basis of your research, present an analysis addressing the following:

· What are the common labor union issues for nursing staff in an acute care organization? (You may select another setting of interest to you.) Explain at least five such issues.

· How can these issues be addressed by HRM?

· How do these issues impact contract negotiations and organizational performance?

· What challenges do you foresee related to labor union issues for nursing staff in an acute care organization?

Submission Details:

· To support your work, use your course and textbook readings and also use the South University Online Library. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

· Your assignment should be addressed in a 2- to 3-page document.

· Submit your document to this appropriate Submissions Area by the due date assigned.